Boxer Fazil Kaggwa fined for world championship debacle
Oct 21, 2015
Light flyweight Fazil Juma Kaggwa will have to pay through the nose for his failure to make the weight during the World Boxing Championship in Qatar recently.
By Samson Opus
Light flyweight Fazil Juma Kaggwa will have to pay through the nose for his failure to make the weight during the World Boxing Championship in Qatar recently.
The Bombers team captain was fined $750 (about sh2.6m) by the local boxing body UBF for embarrassing the nation.
This follows a UBF executive committee meeting that convened at Lugogo on Monday.
The fine may jeapadize Kaggwa’s preparations for the next round of the AIBA semi-professional event APB series next month.
Correspondingly national coach Dick Katende was also fined $400 (about sh1.4m) foe being complicit to the boxers weight problems.
Kaggwa was thrown out of the World Boxing Championship after failing to cut down to size from 50kg to the 49kg light flyweight weight division.
Kaggwa was part of Ugandan team of three boxers that was fully sponsored by President Yoweri Museveni to international engagement.
Confirming the move, UBF organizing secretary Paul Ayiasi said the decision was meant to enforce indiscipline to boxers.
“This is a punitive measure to deter similar cases of indiscipline. Besides failing to make weight, the boxers reported late to camp,” he said.
“Failing to make weight is gross indiscipline. This act of indiscipline caused great damage to the reputation of the federation,” said Otim.
However, the monetary sanctions seem high-handed as the cash-strapped boxing federation does not sufficiently fund boxers on national duty.
Most of the time boxers rely on handouts from good Samaritans to survive in camp.
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